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Figure 1: Comparison of chemical structures of methamphetamine and amphetamine. Methamphetamine differs from its metabolite amphetamine by the presence of a methyl group. Both produce the same stimulant behavioural effects and are used clinically for the treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Figure 2: Figure 2: Schematic diagram of the human dopamine-rich striatum, which is made up of the caudate nucleus, putamen and ventral striatum (left), and a striatal dopamine nerve ending (right). This coronal slice is taken at the rostral tip of the anterior commissure. Methamphetamine causes dopamine release from the nerve endings. The areas of the brain responsible for methamphetamine-liking and craving are unknown but probably include the striatum and regions that provide input to the striatum. Normally, dopamine released into the synapse is taken back up into the nerve ending by the dopamine transporter and is transported into the synaptic vesicle by the vesicular monoamine transporter 2. Methamphetamine causes the release of striatal dopamine from the nerve ending into the synapse. This likely involves the translocation of dopamine from the synaptic vesicle to the neuronal cytoplasm via the vesicular monoamine transporter 2 and the reverse transport of dopamine from the cytoplasm into the synapse via the dopamine transporter. Image by: Lianne Friesen and Nicholas Woolridge